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Linya settles thoroughly in. The rest of her Barrayaran clothes filter in and she mixes and matches in Alys-approved ways. Cordelia continues to be welcoming; the Count continues to be more or less awkward (though she does catch him stifling a laugh the first time she has occasion to scoop up her husband in his presence). Tsipis continues to be marvelously helpful; between them they pick a factory that will be able to make pens for a reasonable bid, and she goes in to visit and makes sure they have everything right and decides what colors the chassis ought to come in (four standard colors, a dozen more available as custom order with optional engraving). She asks Cordelia what color she wants hers; since she doesn't want a complicated nib-end she can have the first one off the production line. For the complicated-nib version, Linya is still studying optics. She writes a letter to a local manufacturer of holoprojectors to see if they have any insight. She wraps up her study of Greek and starts on French - French, she already knew, but this is a different dialect with peculiar Barrayaran Cyrillic spelling rules, so it still requires nonzero effort.
Oh, and she snuggles her tiny Barrayaran. And makes music and has groats for breakfast roughly every other day.
Setting a date for a groat-related wedding as opposed to a groat-related breakfast is a little complicated, but they are formally, as it were, engaged.
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isthisart
isthisart
Linya kisses his forehead. "Are they keeping you reasonably comfortable?"
thisvorlunatic
"As comfortable as it gets, which isn't very. Ugh. Have I mentioned I hate surgery? I hate surgery, Linya."
isthisart
She pets him. "Well, hopefully I can distract you. Preferences?"
thisvorlunatic
"The hair-petting is very nice," he admits. "And you managed to bring your keyboard... it'd be a bit much to ask you to do both at the same time, I suppose."
thisvorlunatic
It is definitely an improvement on being bored and flat all by himself.
isthisart
Linya sings to him until she needs to nip out for lunch, and then she comes back and goes on petting him with one hand while she programs with the other. She behaves roughly the same on the remaining three days, and then Miles is discharged; she brings an Armsman with her to the hospital to haul her keyboard so she can carry her husband out herself. (There is also a car involved, but both Miles and the keyboard need to be brought to the car.)
thisvorlunatic
Miles is, under the circumstances, completely willing to let his wife carry him in semi-public. It sure beats walking out by himself.
isthisart
And then they are home! In she conveys him.
"Where to, my portable little Barrayaran?"
"Where to, my portable little Barrayaran?"
thisvorlunatic
Miles giggles.
"I love you. Upstairs? Our rooms? I want my comfortable bed with its comfortable blankets. Even though my fond memories are probably yielding erroneous predictions of how comfortable they're actually going to be."
"I love you. Upstairs? Our rooms? I want my comfortable bed with its comfortable blankets. Even though my fond memories are probably yielding erroneous predictions of how comfortable they're actually going to be."
isthisart
She kisses his head. "Our rooms it is." And she ports her portable little Barrayaran there.
thisvorlunatic
"You are definitely my favourite porter. Ooh, bed." He snuggles into the blankets. "Disappointingly unmagical, but still better than what I just left."
isthisart
"You'd think for all the little reminder sheets about turning patients to avoid bedsores that I saw posted around the place, they'd save themselves a little work with nicer sheets."
thisvorlunatic
"Eh. The bedsheets and the reminder sheets are probably procured by different departments. Bureaucracy, you know."
isthisart
"For all your reminder notice, bedclothes, and printed musical notation needs."
thisvorlunatic
"And, and... what else comes in sheets? Loose flimsies... metal..."
thisvorlunatic
"Parchment!" giggles Miles. "To-be-assembled plastic models!"
isthisart
Linya giggles and gives him a careful hug that does not interfere with his recuperating legs.
thisvorlunatic
He hugs back. "I love you. This is much better than grouching around the house by myself."